Marcus Smart: ‘I’m worth more than $12-14 million’

CBS Boston:

Nevertheless, the 24-year-old Smart spoke on Sunday night, shortly after the Celtics’ Game 7 loss to the Cavaliers, and made the case that he’s worth many millions of dollars.

“To be honest, I’m worth more than 12-14 million,” Smart told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan. “Just for the things I do on the court that don’t show up on the stat sheet. You don’t find guys like that. I always leave everything on the court, every game. Tell me how many other players can say that.”

I respect Smart’s approach to his upcoming free agency. It’s great he has high standards and wants to get the best deal possible for his future. But, I think $13 million is the perfect amount for the services of Marcus Smart. He’s an elite perimeter defender, and has arguably one of the best work ethics on the floor in the NBA. He brings a lot to a team that is a contender and needs more perimeter defense.

But, he is a mediocre offensive player. Because of that, an NBA team cannot pay Smart max dollars to be their starting point guard. In a league ran by shooters, Smart is one of the worst overall three point shooters in the league. NBA teams draft and sign point guards to create offensively then defense second. Smart has give every indication he wants to remain in beantown. With that being said, they only have so much cap flexibility with Horford, Hayward, and Kyrie’s new deal on the horizon and Jaylen Brown and Tatum extensions needed.